A chilling pattern of violence Inspector-Superintendent Roger West of Scotland Yard must solve!

It began in a courtroom. Mario Rapelli was accused of "assault with intent to maim." There were three witnesses for the defense, two for the prosecution - bit players in a petty, cruel drama.

But then one of the defense witnesses began to talk - about bribery and perjury. Plunging in deeper, chipping away at Rapelli's alibi, Roger West began to piece together the whole picture - much more terrifying than the sum of its deadly parts.